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Lyra Flex
}} For the postwar Lyraflex, see Lyraflex (postwar). The Lyra Flex is a Japanese 6×6 TLR made by Fuji Kōgaku from 1938 to 1944. Dates: advertisements and articles listed in , pp.342–3. Common features The Lyra Flex is a 6×6 TLR with automatic film advance, copied from the Rolleicord. The focusing is done by moving the front plate back and forth. The focusing and advance knobs are on the photographer's right, and there is a round exposure counter window at the top of the right-hand side plate. The focusing knob is surrounded by a depth-of-field plate, and the top of the knob itself is engraved FUJIKOGAKU and NIPPON. There is a magnifying glass hinged to the front of the viewing hood and deployed by a small lever placed to the right. The Lyra Flex Description The original model, released in 1938, , p.342, says that it appeared in the new products column of the March 1938 issue of . has the shutter release on the right hand plate as well as double exposure prevention. Double exposure prevention: advertisement reproduced in , p.101. The nameplate says LyraFlex, with another marking underneath, Fuji kōgaku kikai seisakusho; and the shutter plate is black with FUJIKō inscribed at the top and FUJIKŌGAKU at the bottom. The viewing hood has the cross-like design of early Rolleiflex models, and there seems to be a sports finder.The example examined (by Camerapedia contributor Hoary) had deteriorated so severely that verification was impossible. A plate screwed on to the back shows the depth of field at various combinations of distance and aperture. This model is confused with the later Lyra Flex F and Lyra Flex J by many sources. , items 2011–2; , p.329; this page of the tlr-cameras.com website. Advertisements and other documents An advertisement dated March 1938 presents the original Lyra Flex with a Fujikō A shutter (T, B, 1–300), a Fujikō Anastigmat Goldar 75/3.5 four-element taking lens and a Fuji–kō Anastigmat Terionar 75/3.2 viewing lens, for . Advertisement published in , reproduced in , p.101. A later advertisement, dated September 1938, lists the camera for the same price, without mentioning the lens name. Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, observed in an online auction. The Lyra Flex also appears in the official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, under the names "Lyra Flex A", "Lyra Flex B" and "Lyra Flex F", all three for ¥252. , type 7, section 1. The Lyra Flex F obviously corresponds to the camera described below; the Lyra Flex A is probably the original Lyra Flex and the Lyra Flex B is perhaps a version with a Fujikō B shutter (T, B, 5–250). Variations The camera pictured in the March 1938 advertisement has the FUJI KŌGAKU logo in the middle of the viewing hood. The September 1938 camera and the actual examples observed so far do not have this logo. When compared with the advertising pictures, the nameplate of the actual examples has a slightly different shape with straight sides. Example pictured in , item 2011; example pictured at the bottom of this page of the tlr-cameras.com website. At least one of them reportedly has a Terionar 75/3.5 taking lens. , item 2011. The Lyra Flex F and J Description The Lyra Flex F and Lyra Flex J were offered between 1941 and 1944. Dates: , p.342–3. They have the shutter release at the bottom of the front plate, falling under the left hand fingers. This perhaps means that it is not linked any more to the auto-stop mechanism, and that the double exposure prevention was abandoned. The viewing hood has no cross structure and no logo but the presence of a sportsfinder is confirmed. The nameplate has a stepped frame and is marked LYRA FLEX in uppercase letters. There is an exposure table on the back, replacing the depth-of-field table of the original model. The Lyra Flex F and Lyra Flex J are equipped respectively with a Fujikō F and a Fujikō J shutter. Both shutters have T, B, 1–200 speeds, but the J has a self-timer. It seems to be the only difference between the two models. The shutter plate is sometimes black with white markings and sometimes yellowish with black markings. It is written FUJIKŌ at the top (usually in two parts: FUJ and IKŌ, with an arrow between both, sometimes also in a single word like on the previous model), and FUJIKŌGAKU at the bottom. Advertisements and other documents Advertisements dated May 1941, September 1941 and October 1942 mention an f/3.5 lens with no further detail. Advertisements reproduced in , pp.100–1. See also this undated advertisement reproduced at Nostalgic Camera. The April 1943 government inquiry on Japanese camera production mentions the Lyra Flex F and J with a Terionar 75/3.5 lens. , items 110–1. Advertisements dated February 1944 again mention the Lyra Flex F and J; one of them, placed by Banno Toyoji Shōten, specifies the Terionar f/3.5 lens on the model F. Advertisements on the front and back cover of , February 15, 1944, reproduced on pp.63 and 78 of Hyaku-gō goto jūkai no kiroku. The prices of the Lyra Flex F and J evolved as follows: Actual examples All the actual examples observed so far have a Terionar 75mm f/3.5 taking lens. The engraving was changed from Fuji–kō Anastigmat Terionar to Fuji–kō Terionar at some point, between lens no.120000 and no.126000. It seems that the switch from the yellowish shutter plate to the black one occured at the same time. The viewing lens is a 75mm f/3.2, engraved Fuji-kō Anastigmat Terionar on all examples and having no serial number. Notes Bibliography * Items 299–301. (See also the advertisements for items 294, 298 and 303.) * Items 110–1. * Type 7, section 1. * P.39 (brief mention only). * P.329. (It presents a picture of a Lyra Flex J, identified by mistake as an original Lyra Flex.) * Advertisements on pp.63 and 78, corresponding to the front and back covers of the February 15, 1944 issue. * Items 2011–2. Links In English: * Other Japanese 120 (6x6) TLRs at tlr-cameras.com, with a Lyra Flex F, identified as a Lyra Flex J. On the page with the bigger pictures, there is also an original Lyra Flex, identified as a Lyra Flex F. In Japanese: * Lyra Flex F at Japan Family Camera * Lyra Flex F at Tetsu no shumi no heya * Advertisement for the Lyra Flex F published between 1942 and 1945, reproduced in Nostalgic Camera, a page of Japanese advertisements by Toshio Inamura. Category: Japanese 6x6 TLR Category: Fuji Kōgaku Category: L Category: 1938